Tiny National Counties Building Society boosts returns on easy-access savings account to make it a best-buy

National Counties Building Society will boost the rate on its easy-access savings account from Monday, making it the best-in-class in the independent This is Money best buy tables.

It is the first time in months that a savings provider has made a play to top the league table of long neglected easy-access accounts.

The building society – which has one branch in Epsom, Surrey – is boosting the rate on its bread and butter online saver 3 and branch saver 2 accounts from 1.17 per cent to 1.41 per cent.

Easy-access: Simple savings accounts have been neglected in recent years creating a race to the bottom

The online version requires £100 to open, the branch-based account £500.

Easy-access rates have been hacked away over recent years. The most recent cut came from AA Saving, which led the table with a 1.4 per cent deal, to now pay 1.25 per cent, while Tesco Bank shaved its easy-access deal to 1.35 per cent at the same time.

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Post Office Online Saver Issue 13 now offers the next best return, after National Counties, at 1.4 per cent. This, however, comes with a 0.75 per cent bonus which falls away after 12 months. ICICI Bank also offers a 1.4 per cent rate, bonus-free.

In terms of branch-only accounts, the 1.41 per cent rate can be beaten by Newbury Building Society at 1.65 per cent and Kent Reliance at 1.5 per cent.

Most major banks and building societies do not feature in the best buy easy-access tables, with only Halifax and its online saver paying 0.9 per cent, and Nationwide Building Society with a 1.25 per cent rate scrapping in.

According to information website Moneyfacts, the current average rate for an easy-access account is just 0.66 per cent.

This compares to 1.43 per cent for a one year fixed-rate bond, 1.76 per cent on a two-year and 2.04 per cent on a three year.